Henry Vilas Zoo and the Friends of Henry Vilas Zoo will be hosting Halloween at the Zoo this Sunday, featuring a variety of activities such as games and live music.
According to Henry Vilas Zoo Director Jim Hubing, the zoo has hosted an annual Halloween event for more than 30 years. This year’s event will feature trick-or-treating, a fun house activity tent, music from Ken and The Kenland Band, bounce houses, and animal enrichment activities.
Hubing said some of the exhibits will let visitors chat with zookeepers as they feed the animals Halloween-themed treats.
“We’ll have a polar bear ‘blood-sickle,’ pumpkins for the porcupines to shred and have a good time eating, and surprise treats for the great apes to find,” Hubing said.
In addition, the event will feature ghosts, pumpkins and a trick-or-treat trail with 14 stops throughout the zoo.
“Our goal is to connect people to animals and let them have fun doing it,” Hubing said.
First introduced in 1987, Hubing said Halloween at the Zoo is one of the zoo’s “traditional and major events.”
“It gets people to the zoo at a time when they might not otherwise come,” Hubing said.
“Everyone is welcome, but certainly the children have a great time.”
Joshua Wescott, spokesperson for Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, called Halloween at the Zoo “a great educational tool for younger kids.”
“[Henry Vilas Zoo] is a very kid- and family-friendly zoo,” Wescott said. “This event is just another one of those reasons for mom and dad and the little ones to come out to the zoo. It’s one of the last ones out there where you can literally come and spend the day.”
Since 1987, Halloween at the Zoo has raised over hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of the zoo. This year’s proceeds will go toward the Zoo Century campaign, a 10-year, $27 million fundraising initiative aimed at helping the zoo complete major renovations. Dane County and the city of Madison have already promised $5 million for the first stage in the zoo’s renovations.
Admission to the event, as well as parking, is free.
